Daijiworld Media Network - Hassan (SP/DV)

Hassan, Dec 29: The committee appointed to study the impact of Yettinahole project by way of deforestation failed to visit the spot where forest have ceased to exist. Instead, the committee seemed to be content by working superficially for the sake of showing that it had attended to the work, rather than genuinely visiting the affected areas and assessing the actual position.

Regional empowered committee, coming under the ministry of environment and forests, and other officials of the ministry conducted a spot inspection of the streams which are part of Yettinahole Integrated Drinking Water Project on Monday December 28 in areas bordering Sakleshpur in the district. Activists opposing the project however, have been crying foul, saying that the committee seems to be more interested in completing work for formality sake as it appears to be bent on giving its clearance for the project.

Although the first phase verification had been conducted on December 10, petitioners like K N Somashekhar, Purushotham Chitrapur, Yatiraj Tumkur etc had brought to the notice of the Chennai bench of National Green Tribunal during the last hearing that the verification had not been done properly. Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd had also requested the said committee to conduct its work in a hurry and grant permission for the project.

After getting information about the arrival of the committee, media persons and activists had gathered at Sakleshpur at 7 am on Monday. The vehicles of forest department arrived at 8.30 am. The committee members expressed resentment at the presence of activists and media persons, claiming that they were being hindered from discharging their duties. There were heated exchanges of words. When the committee said representatives of NGOs should not come, the activists retorted that they were Indian citizens having right to know what is going on.

Speaking to daijiworld, MCC deputy commissioner Purushottam Chitrapur who accompanied the activists said, "All the anti-Yettinahole project activists went to the spot. The committee that had come for the study questioned the activists as to what they were doing there, and a verbal clash ensued. We said as tax payers it was our responsibility to know what was going on.

"The officials visited only Yettinahalla which is near the national highway, and did not go deep where the actual deforestation is taking place. They also objected to media's presence, but the media persons argued that as the project needs to be transparent, it should be reported and recorded. They were then invited to the Aranya Bhavan in Hassan, but they turned it down. Instead, they spoke to the activists individually without the presence of media. When the reporters insisted, there was a clash again. Finally, we submitted our views on the project in writing. If the committee still goes ahead in giving clearance for the project, we will challenge it in the National Green Tribunal," he said.

The committee members visited the spot where dam is proposed. From there they went to Heggadde, which is eight km away, and visited the site of proposed work there. It did not visit Mogenahalli near Hiridanahalli where too a number of works are proposed.

Large tracts of forest have razed at the spot where second dam will come up at Alavalli. Although activists and media persons were there, the committee never visited this spot. The committee went to Kadumane Estate. When national highway was being inspected, the committee members again expressed anger at the presence of media persons.

When representatives of Karnataka Neeravari Nigam Ltd informed that only 13.97 hectares of forest would be required for the project, committee members questioned as to how the earlier 18 hectares was scaled down now. They were informed that during border survey many areas were found to be private land, and as such, forest land got reduced to that extent. The activists pointed out that works will also be conducted in 258 hectares of private land, and that more forests will be destroyed in the second phase of the project. They said lesser forest land is being shown purposefully for convincing the committee to give its nod.

Activists like convener of Malenadu Hitarakshana Samiti, K N Somashekhar, Shashiraj Shetty Kolambe, retired IAS officer, V V Bhat, Kishore Kumar Hassan, Dinesh Holla of Sahyadri Sanchaya, Giridhar Kamath, Sundar Rao, and Prakash Pinto were present.

The committee will prepare a report recommending whether to grant permission or not to conduct works in forest land. The committee is expected to check whether legal provisions and rules have been properly complied with, whether the works will harm forest areas, whether alternative area for growing forests has been given, whether rights of people living in forests has been compromised with, etc.

In the meanwhile, the state government, at the cabinet meeting held on Monday, showed inclination to leave aside 4.94 lac hectares of land from 9.94 hectares of deemed forests existing in the state. A survey report jointly prepared by revenue and forest department was placed before the meeting on Monday.